New Zealanders are now the worst in the developed world for under-19 suicides, and second for under-25s. This is the reality for New Zealanders. The young and old, the friends and parents, we are all being affected by this. It’s time to step in and do something to help.

Talk to those that you care about and let’s embrace the fact that digital is here to stay – but let’s also place it into a real perspective. You are enough. You are so enough it is so unbelievable how enough you are.

Anxiety and Depression are gaining an increasing foothold in society.

Let’s do something about it!

I’m Enough is a New Zealand registered charitable trust focusing on the developing of coping strategies for young people and those that care about them.

STRESS RELIEF

Put digital in perspective and find a way through the intense emotions.

I’m Enough was founded for young people, and those who care about them.

I am not alone in how I feel about this online world and how it impacts me.

I know, that no matter how I feel today, it will be okay.

Depression has been overtaken by anxiety as the most common cause for teens to seek mental health help. More and more, we see Social Media’s prevalence is pressuring and shaping society.

With digital tools impacting so directly on our social lives, there appears to be a direct link between social media and our emotional well being.

A consistent message from psychologists around the world is that social media also puts pressure on young people to live their lives in the public domain. In doing so, they feel anxious and stressed by this constant exposure and feedback to their content. This goes to the extent that these pressures create a negative fallout among all the positive elements that social media can provide.

Our teenagers and young adults are required to present a personal ‘brand’ from a very young age and seek reassurance in the form of likes and shares. This happens at an already turbulent and emotional time of life.

It exacerbates negative thought: “You are not pretty enough, thin enough, popular enough or accepted enough”. Generation Z are the first to go through the journey into adulthood with a digital spotlight focused squarely on them.

Fear Of Missing Out – FOMO – is also enabled through social media. We can see the images of friends connecting, parties, and experiences that they are missing out on or were not invited to.

Under these conditions of emotional exposure, and combined with the feedback loop of digital profiles, I am in no doubt that the digital landscape of our teens has become a fertile breeding ground for increased levels of anxiety, depression and even worse, teen suicide. It’s because of this and the reality of the impact it is having on those teens that I chat with that I’m Enough was formed.’

How can I’m Enough help?

Social media is fun, connecting, and when done without any pressure can be awesome and empowering. That said, digital stress and anxiety are fast becoming universal issues.

Understanding that you are not alone when it comes to this stress is a major breakthrough in itself. There are resources, services and support facilities that can help.

I’m Enough is here to help question the things that digital evolution has encouraged us to value: likes, followers, shares, comments and the perpetual availability and expectation to respond to messages. We question images, image editing, and the personal benchmarking of worth that this causes. All of these elements establish a real baseline for either evaluating our self-esteem or to determine our personal self-worth.

We are here to put a real perspective on these elements and encourage you to question just how fair it is to allow these to become an extension of how we judge ourselves – how you place a value on who you are.

The I’m Enough Mindset:

I am defined by more than irrelevant likes and follower counts. I communicate freely with my friends. I share on social media without feeling pressure and judgement. Followers are nice, but are not how I validate myself. I confidently stand my ground. I am free of the need to deliver social updates to maintain my worth. I will not allow myself to be bullied online. I can walk away.

In our stories and podcasts, you will find us questioning the value of :

LIKES as part of your own self-worth

COMMENTS when you probably don’t know half the people on your page.

PERCEPTION, where a ‘personal brand’ likely obscures the true person. In reality, they probably have a second profile that includes real photos with their real friends.

Digital coping strategies for young people and those that care about them. Let’s start a different digital and social media focused conversation.

Our generous charity sponsors are all professionals, with a strong desire to support our teenagers and young adults. Many of our I’m Enough Charitable Trust sponsors are also parents. Combined with their practice work, our contributors see real situations that stem from digital stress.

Our teens and young adult supporters have watched their friends go through peer pressure, bullying, episodes of low self-esteem, or perhaps supported a friend that is going through serious mental health issues. They want to share their tips, suggestions and digital advice that has worked for them.

Our I’m Enough objective is for every teen to believe that THEY ARE ENOUGH. #ImEnough , #HelloToKindness